Category: Current Productions

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Theatre review: Rock And Roll Man

Rock’n’roll musical raises the roof

Salisbury Playhouse


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Constantine Maroulis in Rock And Roll Man. Photo: Pamela Raith

If you’re British and under 75, the name Alan Freed probably won’t mean anything to you. He was an American DJ and he died in 1965. Rock And Roll Man, a musical about his life, could only have originated in the USA, and bringing it over here may be regarded as a bit of a gamble. As it turns out, Freed’s life was richly dramatic- he not only popularised the term ‘rock’n’roll’, he championed Black music to white audiences and pioneered integration at concerts at a time when segregation and racism was entrenched in America. He also strayed from the straight and narrow.

So, Alan Freed is a compelling figure at a pivotal point in music history. Nevertheless, it’s the music that takes centre stage. Even for someone of my vintage, the songs featured in Rock And Roll Man were already history by the time I reached my teens. Having said that, many of them, like Roll Over Beethoven, Tutti Frutti and Yakety Yak have become classics. Even if you’ve never heard them before, you’ll find impossible to stop your hands clapping and your feet tapping. In fact, the show could do with more songs played consecutively to raise the temperature even higher.

The jukebox musical, where the show is built around existing songs, is a difficult genre to conquer. Unlike classic musical theatre, where the songs organically advance the plot and illuminate character, the narrative can feel subordinate, perfunctory even, compared with the power of the music.

It helps therefore that the show incorporates several original numbers by Gary Kupper, written specifically for Freed to sing. They’re not great songs but they do the job of making it feel much more like integrated musical theatre.  Constantine Maroulis, as Freed, is a superb vocalist and persuasive actor, endowed with an audience charming charisma.

In the musical, we see how Freed fell in love with rock’n’roll records by Black artists, started to play them on his radio show rather than bland white crooners despite opposition, then organised concerts with integrated audiences which elicited a violent reaction from the authorities. We see him reach heights of national fame before his TV show is cancelled because a Black man danced with a white woman, and then his downfall.

Rock And Roll Man. Photo: Pamela Raith

The performers are, by and large, accomplished actors as well as singers. The principal singers have voices that are both powerful and mellifluous. Joey James is Chuck Berry personified, down to his signature ‘duck walk’, Marquie Hairston is a splendid Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Anton Stephens‘ beautiful bass voice is lent is Bo Diddley, and Cherece Richards brings a commanding presence to LaVern Baker, a rare female singer from this period. Jairus McClanahan is a gloriously camp a camp Little Richard who lights up the stage with his presence. Their combined harmonies as The Platters, The Coasters and other groups are gorgeous.

Gary Turner is likeable as both Leo, Freed’s early business partner and friend, and later Morris, his more edgy mate from the Mob. Shelby Speed demonstrates impressive versatility as his mother, wife, daughter and more. Mark Pearce is, among others, an authoritative J Edgar Hoover. Under the assured direction of Randal Myler, with dynamic choreography from Stephanie Klemons, the production is slick, stylish and energetically staged.

There’s a clever plot device in the book, which helps give shape to this superior jukebox musical. Gary Kupper, Larry Marshak and Rose Caiola, who wrote the book, cast much of the narrative as a dream, in which Freed imagines himself on trial for promoting rock’n’roll. There is some reasoning behind this, since the prosecutor is J Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, and it was that organisation that pursued Freed for encouraging this ‘degenerate’ music. What was degenerate about it? It was blatantly sexual and, perhaps more importantly, it was seen to be encouraging integration between black and white people- a radical proposition in 1950s and 60s America. So, Freed becomes an unlikely yet significant protagonist in the struggle for social change. Regrettably, this useful framework all but disappears in the second half.

Maybe it was because he had a target on his back, that Freed was plagued by scandals. It seems the practices of payola and tax evasion were common in the corrupt music industry but it was he whose career was destroyed, and that causes the musical to peter out. The show loses its shape and impetus as it heads to a distinctly downbeat end (spoiler alert: Freed dies), but the music plays on. Alan Freed may have faded from our collective memory but the music he shared with the the world still raises the roof.

Rock And Roll Man can be seen at Salisbury Playhouse until  7 March 2026 and then on tour to Theatre Royal Windsor (10-14 March), Cambridge Arts Theatre (16-21 March) and Lighthouse Poole (23-28 March)

[This review was revised on 23/24 February to synchronise the phrasing with that of the YouTube version]

Click here to watch this review on the YouTube channel Theatre Reviews With Paul Seven

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Theatre review: Ben Daniels in Man And Boy

Terence Rattigan’s play is overpowered by Ben Daniels’ thrilling performance

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Ben Daniels in Man And Boy. Photo: Manuel Harlan

Terence Rattigan is now recognised as one of our great playwrights, spoken of as a successor to Ibsen and Chekov. But this wasn’t always so. After his pre-eminence in the 1940s and 50s, he was swept aside by the new wave of so-called kitchen sink and absurdist drama from the likes of Osborne and Pinter. So when Man And Boy arrived in 1962, it was pretty much dismissed by audiences and critics. It took until 2005 before there was a revival in London, which, although well received, still didn’t bring it into the repertoire of regularly performed Rattigan plays such as The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version, The Deep Blue Sea, and Separate Tables.

Is it then a problem play? Well, the National Theatre is giving us a chance to find out, albeit clothed in a thoroughly modern makeover. The trouble is, Anthony Lau‘s stripped down treatment featuring Ben Daniels leaping on and off tables, tends to overpower the play itself. Then again, it’s such a thrill, maybe that doesn’t matter.
Man And Boy, set in the early 1930s, when financial markets were unstable, centres an amoral, sociopathic millionaire and his relationship with his son. Gregor Antonescu is said to the richest, cleverest financier in the world. Ben Daniels, suited and booted, knocks the role into the acting stratosphere, brilliantly conveying a fast talking charm while occasionally revealing his savage contempt for all around him. He smiles, he bares his teeth, he moves like a raptor.
Ben Daniels in Man And Boy. Photo: Manuel Harlan

‘Liquidity and confidence’ keep him afloat, and it’s a phrase he often repeats. As the play begins, liquidity has deserted him in this world where loans are moved around and called in at dizzying speed, and with that has gone his backers’ confidence in him. Matters are made worse when criminal charges are brought against him. ‘In finance, man makes his own miracles,’ says Gregor, and sets about proving his point. A radio provides an urgent commentary.  It’s a searing, damning portrait of the world of the super rich, that resonates today.

Trying to avoid the media while he attempts to make a deal that will save him, he holes up in his estranged son Basil’s pokey apartment in a poor part of New York. It turns out the venue is not random. He has set up a meeting with a major banker Mark Herries, played with a combination of smarm and steel by Malcolm Sinclair. Herries is a closet gay man, whom Gregor hopes to manipulate by passing off his son as a rent boy that he can link up with.
Basil is played with a moving mixture of sadness and surliness by Laurie Kynaston. He is a sensitive musician with a social conscience, hence ‘weak’ in Gregor’s eyes. At first, Basil is hostile to his father- ‘you are nothing’ he says- yet still shows filial loyalty when his father is under threat. So, the second half of the play looks more closely at this damaged relationship, with a broken Gregor who has previously said ‘love is a commodity I can’t afford’ wondering whether he has underestimated the importance of love, and Basil doing everything he can to gain that missing paternal affection.
So, what about the tables? On the stage of Georgia Lowe‘s traverse-style set are three long tables that are moved into different configurations for no reason that was apparent to me, unless it was an elaborate pun to do with turning the tables on his enemies. In addition, there are a few simple chairs, a piano, a telephone, a radio, and I think that was it.
On one wall at the back of the theatre is projected the cast list and above the stage entrance the neon words ‘Knock Knock’, although it’s always a doorbell that rings. Why? It could be an attempt at Brechtian alienation, intended to make us step back from emotional involvement, and think about the moral issues. I doubt Rattigan would have approved.

Do the tables help or hinder?

So do the tables help or hinder our understanding of the play? Looked at positively, they create some dramatic moments when Ben Daniels jumps onto them and looks down on all around him. At these times, he is the colossus the world believes him to be, and when he crouches on his haunches and leans over his son, he is like an alpha male silverback gorilla. But, also, they are only cheap kitchen tables, an apt metaphor for the flimsy foundations of Gregor’s power. Credit here to Choreographer and Movement Director Aline David.
Ben Daniels & Laurie Kynaston in Man And Boy. Photo: Manuel Harlan

Then again, when other characters clamber onto a table, the effect feels mannered and a bit distracting. Are they isolating themselves from those close to them, as they are already doing emotionally? Maybe. Or are they just doing it because the tables are there? Any way you interpret it, I will always think of this as the ‘table production’.

I guess we’re used to seeing plays by Rattigan’s contemporaries, writers like Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams, being given minimalist settings, not to mention those by the father of naturalism, Ibsen. But a naturalistic background has come to seem integral to Rattigan’s work.  Very few of us have had the opportunity to see Man And Boy in a conventional production, so it’s hard to judge what is gained or lost in this stripped-bare version.
While the first half dominance of Ben Daniels was thrilling, and his breakdown in the second half shocking, yet his sheer theatrical force, and (yes) the tables, stopped me from getting fully engaged with the evolution of the father-son relationship. This may be intentional, since the play’s centre of gravity is undeniably Gregor.
The other characters we encounter are very much secondary, albeit well played. Phoebe Campbell brings verve to Basil’s girlfriend Carol. Gregor knows all about her, because he has spies, and information is power in his world (that’s how he knows about Mark Harries’ secret life). Leo Wan is David Beeston, an accountant at first confident and aggressive when he tries to prove Gregor’s corruption, but who breaks down in the face of humiliation and frustration. Isabella Laughland gives a delightful performance as Gregor’s semi-detached wife, enjoying the high life but annoyed at the lack of attention from her husband. Nick Fletcher plays Sven, Gregor’s cynical consigliere. It is significant that when Gregor hits rock bottom and craves some human touch, his Wife and his closest friend both make their excuses.
By the way, although I said the set is two-sided, there are gallery and circle seats on the other two sides. I would advise you that those areas offer severely restricted views.
Man And Boy make lack the finesse of Rattigan’s best plays, but Anthony Lau’s bold staging and Ben Daniels mighty performance make the revivial well worthwhile.

Man And Boy can be seen at the National Theatre until 14 March 2026. Buy tickets directly from nationaltheatre.org.uk

Click here to watch this review on the YouTube Channel Theatre Reviews With Paul Seven

Click here to see the roundup of other critics’ reviews of Man And Boy starring Ben Daniels

 

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Theatre review: The Importance of Being Earnest – Stephen Fry & Olly Alexander

The importance of being fun

Noel Coward Theatre


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Stephen Fry in The Importance of Being Earnest. Photo: Marc Brenner

I gave a lukewarm review to this production of The Importance of Being Earnest when it premiered at the National Theatre. Part of the reason was, I love this play and, even though I still enjoyed the witty dialogue and the ingenious story of identity and hidden truth, I felt the queer interpretation was laid on a bit thick. I accepted that the two main characters’ double lives could be taken as a metaphor for gay men’s secrecy in past times, but, to my mind, Max Webster‘s decision to foreground the subtext undermined the power of Wilde’s actual text. I now think my prejudice blinded me to the quality of what was in front if me

So I wanted to give it a second chance, and go in more prepared for this approach. And I wanted to compare Olly Alexander‘s Algernon and Stephen Fry’s Lady Bracknell with Ncuti Gatwa and Sharon D Clarke. 
It’s not only the twostars, there’s a complete new cast. Each actor captured the distinctive cadence of Oscar Wilde’s prose, delivering lines with clarity. Putting my gratitude for that aside, I fully expected Alexander and Fry to lack the power of Gatwa‘s dazzle and Clarke’s swagger. And in a way I was right, neither has the charisma of the National’s original casting. However, their more restrained interpretations of Algie and Lady Bracknell create a more balanced production.
They make the parts their own, as judges on talent shows are apt to say. Olly Alexander delivers an exemplary performance, imbuing Algie with endearing boyish charm, while Stephen Fry relied on a quiet, clipped delivery (and to be fair his height) to exert his authority. This is not the pantomime dame I feared but rather a totally believable version of the snobbish, domineering representative of the aristocracy. Where the previous larger-then-life characterisations almost suffocated Wilde’s delicate plot construction, toning them down seems to allow it to breathe a little more.
The rest of the West End cast are as good if not better than their National Theatre counterparts. Outstanding are the two young women, Gwendolen and Cecily, played by Kitty Hawthorne and Jessica Whitehurst respectively, and the object of Jack and Algie’s affections. I still found their overt expressions of sexual frustration somewhat incongruous with the period context, but I went with it, and actually the tongue waggling and the attention they pay to their fiery loins is pretty funny. Come to think of it, their obsession with their husband being called Ernest is just as silly.
Another highlight is Hayley Carmichael playing the manservants Lane and Merriman. It’s hard not to laugh at Merriman’s every entrance, when this diminutive figure dressed in oversized wig and tailcoat moves with mechanical stiffness and an air of complete bewilderment.
Shobna Gulati and Hugh Dennis extract plenty of humour from the relationship between Miss Prism and Canon Chasuble. Their suppressed passions form a delightful counterpoint to the younger lovers’ unbridled emotions. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett is a fine, likeable Jack Worthing.
Olly Alexander and Hayley Carmichael in The Importance of Being Earnest. Photo: Marc Brenner

Far from going further in laying on thick this gay interpretation, the transferred production seems to have reined it in ever so slightly. I admit I was expecting, and therefore was less concerned about the opening where Algie is in a cocktail dress at a cross dressing party, or the men and women being sexually excited by their own as much as the opposite sex, or by the references to modern pop songs.

It may have avoided becoming the pantomime I feared but the production is still deliciously over the top. Rae Smith’s colourful costumes and lavish sets, complete with masses of blooming bushes and two naked male statues, create an exuberant atmosphere. And the curtain call does provide a panto-style walkdown, with the cast dressed in giant petals.
I would still prefer a version of The Importance of Being Earnest that allows the lines to speak for themselves, but I am very happy to concede that Wilde’s timeless comedy is big enough to take a joke, and this is a particularly good joke.
The Importance of Being Earnest can be seen at the Noel Coward Theatre until 10 January 2026. Buy tickets direct from the theatre
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Review: Cabaret at the KitKat Club

Total Theatre with a message for our times

The KitKat Club at The Playhouse

⭑⭑⭑⭑

Hannah Dodd, Rob Madge & the company of Cabaret at the KitKat Club. Photo: Marc Brenner

It’s taken me four years to get round to seeing Cabaret at the KitKat Club, the venue formerly known as The Playhouse. The original stars of Rebecca Frecknall‘s production, Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley, have long gone, and indeed many other pairs have played The Emcee and Sally Bowles in the intervening years. Even Rob Madge and Hannah Dodd, whom I saw, have now moved on.  But Cabaret at the KitKat Club remains the best show in London’s West End, and should be seen by anyone who loves musical theatre. Having said that, in my opinion, it’s not the best production of Cabaret ever. 

Rebecca Frecknall isn’t the first director to come up with the idea of turning the whole theatre into the KitKat Club, that being the name of the venue where the cabaret part of the musical takes place. I saw a production in Berlin back in 2018 that did just that. And most famously, and possibly the first to do it, was Sam Mendes‘ production at the Donmar Warehouse back in 1993. But I doubt anyone has done it with such complete dedication and thoroughness as Ms Frecknall.

You, the audience, are invited to get to the theatre an hour or more before the show begins. Even the outside of the old Playhouse has been rebranded the KitKat Club. You enter through the Stage Door, and go straight into the basement. Normally the secret home of dressing rooms, the main corridor has been changed into a bar area with subdued lighting and performers playing music and generally standing around looking degenerate. significantly, the signage is in English and German. Oh, and you’re offered a free shot of Schnapps. So, from the start, you are immersed in the decadence of Berlin’s hedonistic nightlife.

Then, it’s up the stairs to another bar where sexily clad dancers and musicians of indeterminate genders entertain in the sultry style of the Jazz Age. And so into the main house. The first shock is that the seating and layout of the old Playhouse has been completely ripped out. Instead of a proscenium arch stage and straight rows of seats, the circular stage area is in the middle of the auditorium with the audience on two sides, traverse style. Tables and chairs are in the immediate areas on either side of the stage. These are very expensive by the way, and have given the show its reputation for being high priced.  Beyond them are much more reasonably priced rows of seats, which are curved thus adding to the feeling of intimacy.

My row, which was G about six from the front, had a great rake, fantastic legroom and even a shelf for drinks. There are similarities with the Mendes production- it too utilised a small bare stage with some of the audience sitting at tables in front of it but in this production, we are all  in the KitKat Club circa 1929. This is total theatre that couldn’t be anything but a live show. Special credit here to Tom Scutt‘s set and costume design.

The dance and music continues as we wait for the show to begin. Our Emcee tonight is Rob Madge, who is fabulous as a threatening clown. It’s a part that can be played more sympathetically but Rebecca Frecknall chooses to go with the ‘leave your troubles outside’ cue and makes him lascivious, waspish, amoral and apolitical. So when he sings I Don’t Care Much in the second act, a song you won’t recognise if you only know the movie, there is no bravado, no irony, he really doesn’t seem to care.

Interestingly when Hal Prince first put together the musical in 1966, the Emcee was there to hold the show together but was not considered a major character. Joel Grey- and the audiences- changed all that. Now he is the conduit between us and the stories. And because he is our guide, and this is theatre, where the relationship between each other and with those on stage is uniquely intense, we are carried along by the fun of the cabaret, and become onlookers at the world outside the club.

That’s where we meet the gay, or maybe bi-sexual, American journalist Cliff – a sensitive performance from Daniel Bowerbank when I saw it- who becomes friendly with a Nazi called Ernst and a nightclub singer called Sally Bowles with whom he falls in love. More of her in moment, but first the other love story. Cliff’s landlady Fraulein Schneider falls in love with a Jewish fruiterer called Herr Schultz. It is a delicate romance between two lonely people in their autumn years, touchingly conveyed by Vivien Parry and Fenton Gray. Their songs It Couldn’t Please Me More and What Would You Do tighten the chest. As Act One ends, their relationship is broken up by the Nazis.

All this is taking place on the same bare stage that is the focal point of the KitKat Club. So we can quickly switch to cabaret songs which are a commentary on the stories: The Emcee sings and performs Two Ladies, parodying Cliff’s bisexuality. We hear the strirringTomorrow Belongs To Me quite early on, showing the apparently innocent but faintly sinister appeal of patriotism, that will drive the Nazi campaign. And If You Could See Her (the gorilla song) exposing the way the Nazis portray the Jews as sub-human.

The score is one of the best of all musicals with its evocation of the period, its exposition of character and plot, and its commentary on the action. There are so many great songs but two of the best are sung by Sally Bowles. I wasn’t sure about the jolly hockey sticks voice adopted by Hannah Dodd. Possibly Sally is meant to be putting on an act of speaking like the high society of the period, or perhaps she is simply a product of a 1920s finishing school. Anyway, Ms Dodd came into her own with the songs. Maybe This Time, first performed in the 1972 movie but now an integral part of the stage show, shows how on the edge Sally is. Desperate for love but also desperate to be something this naive English girl really isn’t- a hedonistic showbiz star. Her life is an vitreous act that could shatter at any moment, as it eventually does.

By the time, we reach the climactic singing of Cabaret, she has fallen apart, and hardly believes the sentiment of her late debauched friend Elsie that life is or should be a cabaret. She sees the mess of her own life and the way her idealised Berlin is succumbing to a sinister political group that won’t ‘live and let live’. The song is sung with anger and despair, not at all like the defiant Lisa Minelli version.

The second act sees the greatest divergence from the Sam Mendes production. In the earlier version, the KitKat Club carries on in its own blinkered way to the end, ignoring or mocking the Nazis until it is destroyed by them, in a shattering finale. In Rebecca Frecknall’s interpretation, the Nazi style gradually infiltrates the club. The costumes become bland, sandy coloured suits reflecting the Nazi uniform of brown shirts. We continue to be entertained but now, looked at objectively, we’re applauding or at least being complicit in the rise of the Nazis.

Either way works, and although I prefer the shock of Sam Mendes’ approach, the result is the same- a stark warning by the writer of the musical’s book Joe Masteroff and its composers John Kander and Fred Ebb against standing by and ignoring the rise of racist, authoritarian politicians under a banner of patriotism.

You leave having witnessed an evening of theatrical entertainment unequalled in the West End today, while this regime was being constructed round you.  Point made.

If you would like a flavour of the Sam Mendes production, there is a slightly blurry film of it, made for television, and available on YouTube.

Paul paid for his ticket.

Click here to watch this review on the YouTube channel Theatre Reviews With Paul Seven

 

 

 

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Review: Intimate Apparel

Powerful play about women in a man’s world

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Samira Wiley & Claudia Jolly in Intimate Apparel. Photo: Helen Murray

The intimate apparel in question is a corset which back in 1905 when this play is set, helped women present to the outside world a body shape that conformed with that era’s restrictive standard of female beauty. But corsets aren’t the only deception going on in Lynn Nottage’s twisty play. Intimate Apparel shows us women faking it in a man’s world, while revealing their intimate feelings about their lives to each other when the disguise is off. At times, it is so believable, you forget you’re watching actors. This despite a minimal set and an audience on three sides.

It’s a play centred on women’s place in society at a time when black people were emerging from slavery and only men had the vote. The central character is Esther played by Samira Wiley. She is a black 35 year old unmarried seamstress who makes the intimate apparel of the title. She is shy and self deprecating about her looks. Her lack of confidence has kept her away from a social life, until she is now 35, has never had sex, and is effectively ‘on the shelf’. It is a monumental piece of acting, mixing downtrodden subservience with naive optimism, that totally convinces.

Esther’s clients are her world: they are quasi friends despite the difference in status. A motherly Mrs Dickson played by Nicola Hughes owns a boarding house in which Esther rents a room; Mrs Van Buren (Claudia Jolly) is a brittle white woman with a rich husband who neglects her; Mayme played with panache by Faith Omole achieves her independence through prostitution.

In a lesser play, these characters might be two dimensional ciphers representing different types of women in that society. We are told very little about their backgrounds or personal lives but Lyn Nottage’s special skill is to know her characters so well that every word they speak seems coated with the truth of a fully formed human being. It helps that these talented actors are there to inhabit the carefully created characters and give them a three dimensional reality.

The high quality of the acting extends to the two male characters- Kadiff Kirwan swaggers and whines as George, the kind of man who has never grown up, and Alex Waldmann gives a touching performance as the gentle, humorous Mr Marks, a haberdasher who is genuinely attracted to Esther and a would be a perfect match for her, but is held back by a religious faith that prevents him having physical contact with women outside his family.

Intimate Apparel at The Donmar. Photo: Helen Murray

When Esther gets a letter out of the blue from a man looking for a pen pal, the other women encourage her to respond. Because she can neither read nor write, they pursue the correspondence on her behalf until a remote love affair takes place and Esther accepts a marriage proposal without ever having met her fiancé.

So, a marriage has been built on something every bit as fake as the bodies created by intimate apparel. Might it still work out or will Esther’s world come crashing down? That’s the subject of the second act.  I’d love to talk about what happens but it would be unfair to spoil the dramatic twists and revelations which actually provoked gasps from the audience- an indication of how involved we were. Credit to director Lynette Linton for the romantic build-up that drew us in and the explosive pinball machine speed with which it blew up in our faces.

Alex Berry’s set used the cramped space of the Donmar well- key props like a bed and sewing machine nimbly moving around while the male characters appeared from high up at the back like Gods. Her costumes were fabulous and I assume accurate representations of the clothes- and underwear- of the period.

Intimate Apparel can be seen at the Donmar theatre until 9 August 2025. Buy tickets direct from the theatre.

Paul paid for his ticket.

Watch this review on the YouTube channel Theatre Reviews With Paul Seven

 

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Review: Ruth Wilson & Michael Shannon in A Moon For The Misbegotten

A long evening lit up by Ruth Wilson

Almeida Theatre


⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Ruth Wilson & Michael Shannon in A Moon For The Misbegotten. Photo: Marc Brenner

I admit there were moments when I thought Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon For The Misbegotten could hurry I up a bit but I came to appreciate this is a play where every word- and the unspoken words- count, and I appreciated the way that director Rebecca Frecknall deliberately made space to let this time bomb of a play achieve its impact.

It’s a kind of sequel , or perhaps an epilogue, to A Long Day’s Journey Into Night. It features Jamie Tyrone, one of the sons from that play, now known as Jim, and refers to his late mother and father. He is landlord to Josie Hogan and her father Phil. He seems benign but Phil fears he will sell their farm, so hatches a plot by which Josie will seduce Jim and he will be forced to marry her. Which is ironic because they do actually desire one another.

At first Josie comes across as a confident, independent woman, able to handle herself and the men around her, including her cynical, mean father. Playing the part is Ruth Wilson, at first swaggering and fearless, striding confidently and literally wielding a big stick. But from the beginning we sense a brittleness behind the bravado. We also see she is selfless, and, as the play progresses, this aspect of her character manifests itself in her approach to Jim and Phil. The gradual cracking of the shell she has built around herself is shown by Ms Wilson in multiple small ways. She becomes increasingly tender, as she admits the truth about herself and sees the reality of others   It could be the acting performance of the year.

Michael Shannon’s Jim, an alcoholic, is clearly a broken man but a gentle one who seems to be drowning his sorrows not only in booze but in casual encounters with women. His falsetto laugh and sad face hint there is more to him than a drunken womaniser, and his deliberate movements are not only those of a bourbon-soaked body but also of a man who hates his own being. As he moves from destructive self hate to a kind of temporary redemption, a calm takes over his body.

Ruth Wilson & David Threlfall in A Moon For The Misbegotten. Photo: Marc Brenner

What emerges over the length of the play is a gradual peeling off of the images Josie and Jim project to cover their insecurity and the discovery of the reasons they feel vulnerable, which are very much tied up with their parents- hence the ‘misbegotten’ of the title.

There are wrong assumptions and misunderstandings, especially over what they actually desire, and many moments in which there are two steps forward and one step backward, before a finale when their true feelings are laid bare. I called it a bomb earlier but I don’t want to imply the end is explosive- it’s softer and more moving than that, but there are some dramatic incidents on the way.

Rebecca Frecknall’s slow unwinding of the play would not be so mesmerising  without actors of the calibre of Ruth Wilson and Michael Shannon, not to mention the inimitable David Threlfall, who totally convinces as a wily old farmer whose twinkling eyes betray his love for his daughter.

Tom Scutt’s circular set, made of battered wood conveys the poverty of the farm business. Jack Knowles’ lighting design centres on a moving spot high up at the back of the stage which moves its beam across the scene and the characters. It powerfully represents a moon which witnesses and encourages their revelations.

Maybe O’Neill could have written a shorter play, but I wouldn’t want to mess in any way with this perfect production.

A Moon For The Misbegotten can be seen at the Almeida Theatre until 16 August 2025. Buy tickets direct from the theatre.

Paul paid for his ticket.

Watch this review on YouTube

Read a roundup of other critics’ reviews here

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Theatre review: Unicorn with Nicola Walker, Stephen Mangan & Erin Doherty

Two plus one equals a challenging comedy


★★★★

Stephen Mangan, Nicola Walker & Erin Doherty in Unicorn. Photo: Marc Brenner

Unicorn is about a middle-aged couple played by Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan who are attracted to the idea of introducing a third person into their relationship- in the form of a younger woman played by Erin Doherty.

This makes it a difficult play to review. Not because of some of the language- although that’s a problem too- but because so much of the play is about whether they will or won’t go ahead. I’ll do my best to talk about this adventurous comedy without giving away any spoilers.

Here are some things I can tell you about Unicorn. It’s funny, although the light-heartedness does give way to something deeper in the second half. I can also tell you it’s about emotional relationships rather than a simple threesome (if indeed a threesome is ever simple). And, even if it is about more than physical gratification, there is nevertheless much frank- and indeed filthy- talk about sex.

Having said that, if you were hoping to see these beloved stars in the buff, or were perhaps dreading the embarrassment of seeing bits of them that are normally covered up, there are no depictions of sex. They don’t even undress, well, Nicola Walker does take her shoes off. Frankly, it’s shocking enough to hear Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan talking about sex in explicit four letter words- yes, even that word- without them actually doing it.

Our middle-aged couple still say they love one another but wonder if a third person might spice things up their sex life. Fortunately Polly, played by Nicola Walker at her most hesitant and nervously sensual, is a lecturer, and one of her mature but much younger than her students has the hots for her. And she feels the same.

Normally, if that’s the right word in this unusual situation, it’s difficult to find a young woman who wants a relationship with an older couple. (I’m not saying this from personal experience- it’s what we’re told in the play.) As rare as a unicorn, in fact. But fortunately, Kate, played by Erin Doherty, is interested, and so the story begins. The very word ‘unicorn’ may suggest a fantasy but we go with it because this is a scintillating script by Mike Bartlett, and these three actors, under James Macdonald’s direction, know exactly what to do with it.  Their comic timing is exquisite.

Erin Doherty nails the younger woman: frank, matter-of-fact and with a clear picture of what she wants. She talks loud and without hesitation. The generational gap is portrayed well. Stephen Mangan as Nick is especially good as an older man tying himself in knots as he tries to contain what he fears is stereotypical masculinity. He and Nicola Walker capture that respectful tone of the woke London middle class who are aware they shouldn’t offend or take risks, so beat about the bush and constantly retreat from what they really want.  ‘It’s entirely possible that on some level this is inappropriate,’ says Polly to Kate. Even when they kiss, all three contain any passion they might feel in favour of conversation.

So we journey through the first half continuing a will-they-won’t-they situation. At this point, I think I can add something to my plot summary. It might be a spoiler but I doubt you imagine this prevarication, funny as it is, could possibly continue for over two hours. In the second half, they do get together, but only after some significant turning points in all their lives.  We find that 30 year old Kate is increasingly the driving force in the potential three-way relationship, and we realise why. She comes to represent not only hope for the throuple but also a wider hope for humanity.

Nicola Walker & Erin Doherty in Unicorn. Photo: Marc Brenner

As we move into the dynamics of the menage-a-trois, and its ups and downs (no innuendo intended), the humour subsides a little in favour of more philosophical conversations. To summarise: we live in dangerous times, when the world and our bodies are threatened by pollution. We’re brought up on Disney happy-ever-after movies and bicycles made for two. So our primary choice of heteronormative coupling is tied up with this failed society. A willingness to try new, honest ways of living and loving could be the path to happiness and a better world.

It’s clear from the start that this particular arrangement is so rare that it is close to a fairy tale, a fairy tale that even features a unicorn. Then again,  children’s fairy tales are a way of tackling the challenges offered by a world that can seem dark and forbidding. I don’t want to say whether their happiness ultimately comes from their being all together or working out different kinds of relationships, but I certainly came out of the theatre feeling upbeat about the world.

Miriam Buether’s set is half of a dome, the other half being in effect the fourth wall. It occasionally concertinas up at the back to allow an entrance. The impression is that the three are contained within a cocoon, thus adding to the feeling that they are in a fantasy world. The backdrop is bathed in different colours, and sometimes Natasha Chivers‘ lighting design casts multiple shadows. I’m not sure if that’s to indicate the multiple possibilities of modern relationships or more mundanely to make the image of two or three people on stage more visually stimulating. There are few props- chairs or a sofa to sit on, a bed to lie on. Refreshingly, both designer and director take a discreet approach that lets the actors to do their job.

I certainly wouldn’t go see Unicorn if you’re hoping for an erotic evening, but if you take it as a fantasy delve into changing attitudes to relationships, then it’s both interesting and funny. If nothing else, it will get you talking, and who knows what that might lead to.

Unicorn can be seen at the Garrick Theatre until 26 April 2025.

Paul paid for his ticket.

Click here to watch this review on the YouTube channel Theatre Reviews With Paul Seven

 

 

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The Little Foxes at the Young Vic – review

Anne-Marie Duff is chilling in 20th century classic

★★★★

A woman in a dress holding a cup faces a man in a suit with a paper under his arm, both are standing
Anne-Marie Duff & Mark Bonnar in The Little Foxes. Photo: Johan Persson

Like me, you probably see more acting on TV than in the theatre. That means I’m always interested to see whether a favourite actor can make that transition from screen to stage.  The Little Foxes at the Young Vic was packed with faces from British television. Mark Bonnar who you will have seen in Shetland and Guilt; Steffan Rhodri best known as Dave Coaches from Gavin & Stacey; Anna Madeley who is Mrs Hall in All Creatures Great And Small; and one certifiable star in Anne-Marie Duff most recently seen in Bad Sisters.

I have seen all these actors on stage before, but it is still a thrill to be reminded that, like so many other screen actors, they are often only giving us a glimpse of their skills when they’re in front of a camera. The real test of their acting ability comes when they are trapped in the time and space of a theatre show, communicating directly with a live audience. This cast passed the test with distinction. 
Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes was premiered in 1939 but this attack on capitalism focuses on a family of landowners from the American South around 1900. So, the first question you might ask is, why did Lillian Hellman, who was a communist by the way, set her play around 40 years in the past? I’m guessing it’s because 1939 was not the best time for an anti-capitalist message. America had just experienced successful state intervention in their free market system in the form of Roosevelt’s New Deal, so a mixed economy may have seemed more attractive than a communist one. More than that, communists, capitalists, rich and poor were in the process of uniting in a fight against fascism, or at least that was the perception. So it might have been easier to show unadulterated capitalism, raw in tooth and claw as it were, from a couple of generations earlier.
The first half introduces us to the Hubbard family. There are two brothers- Ben played by Mark Bonnar, cunning as a fox and arrogant as a peacock, initially strutting about the stage, nonchalantly shrugging off challenges. Ben boasts of the way his family, who were traders, took advantage of the Civil War to buy up property while the Southern grandees were being defeated, fighting for their principles. He is even proud of their exploitation of what he calls ‘coloured people’.
The other brother Oscar, a weak bully, is played by Steffan Rhodri with a rat-like blend of slyness and nerves. The lead character is their sister Regina played by Anne-Marie Duff. Her bravura performance dominates the evening, entrancing us with her hyperactive character, who is by turn charming, quivering with frustration or displaying a diamond hard will power that is genuinely chilling. Her sparkling eyes and wide smile are a mask that covers her amorality.
The brothers inherited their father’s money. When they have an investment opportunity that will make them a huge fortune, Regina is shocked and angry to find she has been left out of the spoils. She plots to get both her share and revenge, by using her ailing husband’s money to make up the additional investment her brothers need.
After a slow first half that establishes the characters and their situation, the play takes off like a SpaceX rocket, as these greedy siblings ruthlessly trick and use one another.  Regina becomes more ruthless than any of them in her ambition.
It’s a savage expose of people whose greed trounces love, loyalty and all other moral values. But, is it relevant today? I guess the answer to that partly depends on your politics, but the fact is, capitalism remains the dominant system, despite regulation and the welfare state. Add to which, we appear to be entering an era of less regulation, in America at least, and we have seen the privatisation of public services in the UK. So I suppose it is a good time to be reminded that however high the quality of service or product we receive from companies, their number one priority is profit, not people. 

Powerful performance from Anna Madeley

A mature woman in a dress looks down
Anna Madeley in The Little Foxes. Photo: Johan Persson

The play presents some alternatives. Oscar’s wife Birdie is from an aristocratic family. She represents the ‘old values’ based on patronage, duty and responsibility. She is an alcoholic, bullied by her husband, and ghosted into a lack of confidence. She may be brittle- she laughs nervously, she looks down, there’s fear in her eyes- but still expresses her beliefs. It’s a powerful performance from Anna Madeley, showing Birdie beaten down but still proud. The quality and depth of her acting won’t surprise you if you’ve seen her as Mrs Hall, giving much-needed weight to the cosiness of All Creatures Great and Small.

Regina’s husband and daughter show that behaving morally is an option. They are played by John Light and Eleanor Worthington-Cox, the latter subtly showing how her character grows in strength as events force her to choose between standing up for her beliefs or standing by watching. In fact, the play’s strongest message is that most of us stand by watching bad things happening and do nothing about it. In stark contrast, Oscar’s son, played by Stanley Morgan, is morally bankrupt, like his father.
The black servants show two different sides of the class that has been most exploited and abused by this family. Freddie MacBruce as Cal goes about his job without question, but Andrea Davy’s Addie is firm in her opinions and tenderly loyal to those who treat her well.
Quite a few reviewers criticised the design, suggesting that its mid 20th century look was not appropriate, and even confusing, when used in a play set in 1900. On the contrary, I think Lizzie Clachan’s design is a stroke of genius. First and foremost, it doesn’t distract. A turn of the century design could have made the story seem of a bygone age, irrelevant to today. On the other hand, modern day clothes would have been too anachronistic for a play that’s set over a hundred years ago and mentions horses and carriages.
Instead, Ms Clachan cleverly plumps for the neutrality of clothes of the time it was written. The dominant beige reinforces this.  The absence of the trappings of the life of the well-off suggests these are people who want wealth for its own sake. They aren’t even that interested in enjoying the luxuries that come with it.
It’s a damning picture of capitalism but I think it’s unfair to suggest, as some critics did, that it fails because the main character doesn’t evoke enough sympathy. I found that I had plenty of sympathy with her over the way she was treated and therefore cheered her on as she exacted revenge. But that sympathy only heightened the shock of seeing just how far she would go and what sacrifices she would make. Yes, she does become a monster but it seems possibly sexist to me to suggest that this portrait of a greedy capitalist woman can only can only be of interest if we have sympathy for her. I don’t think you have to sympathise with the murdering Macbeth to get involved in his character and story, or with the greedy Lehman Brothers to find them fascinating. I didn’t like Regina as a human being but it was gripping to see how far she would go and whether she would finally realise there is more to life than money.
Director Lyndsey Turner delivers a powerful interpretation and the excellent cast squeeze every ounce of drama out of it. Before the interval I was wondering whether it was ever going to take off but when it did it was riveting. And if you love watching great acting, this is one not to miss.

The Little Foxes is at the Young Vic until 8 February 2025. Buy tickets direct from the theatre

Paul paid for his ticket
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Theatre Reviews Roundup – The Devil Wears Prada

Vanessa Williams stars in Elton John musical

Dominion Theatre
Vanessa Williams and Matt Henry in The Devil Wears Prada. Photo: Matt Crockett

This musical is based on the popular film starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. It has been adapted by Kate Wetherhead with music by Elton John. After a lukewarm response to its premiere in Chicago, musicals heavyweight Jerry Mitchell has been brought in to direct and choreograph.

The producers may be disappointed at receiving so many two star reviews but the critics’ overall view that it is a victory for style over substance may not concern those audiences who love a bit of style. The stars Vanessa Williams, Georgie Buckland, Amy di Bartolomeo and Matt Henry were, on the whole, well received, as was the choreography.

The critics couldn’t agree about Elton John‘s music with comments ranging from ‘lackkustre’ to ‘irresistable’. Similarly, the clothes, which are an essential ingredient, were described by BroadwayWorld as ‘What the show gets right’ and by WhatsOnStage as ‘deeply disappointing’. Theatre critics turned into would-be fashion writers as they disagreed on whether the frocks were authentic haute couture or knockoffs.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

For Martin Robinson at The Standard (5★) it was ‘absolutely fabulous’.  He said, ‘Elton John’s irresistible songs are the highlight of this big, bold, metaphorically shoulder-padded musical…The tunes, from disco to power pop to Broadway homage, are draped in witty lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick, and belted out by a glamazon cast in a ritzy, glitzy production by director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell that conquers the cavernous Dominion.’ He noted, ‘Williams sings with withering power’

Chris Omaweng for LondonTheatre1 (4★) said, ‘Jerry Mitchell’s signature “full out” choreography is delightful, and the music has the kind of campy and upbest drive one would expect from Sir Elton John.’  Saying he’d see it again, he ended, ‘there are some decent punchlines to chortle at and a stellar cast with plenty of talent to enjoy.’

The Times’ Clive Davis (3★) called it ‘efficient, well-groomed, and, at times, a tiny bit dull’.

Fiona Mountford at i-news (3★) thought there were pros and cons. On the plus side, ‘The costumes are, of course, fabulous, and Williams, a made-to-measure fit for the Priestly part as the undisputed mistress of the wither put-down, could not look more stylish.’ However, ‘If only this fabulousness could extend to director Jerry Mitchell’s choreography, which is bewilderingly and irredeemably naff, like a local Zumba class attempting a line dance.’

Olivia Rook for LondonTheatre (3★) said Vanessa Williams ‘has an incredible stage presence’. She also thought ‘Georgie Buckland impresses as ambitious Andy’ and ‘Amy Di Bartolomeo gives a stand-out performance as first assistant Emily’. However she was unimpressed by the costumes: ‘They’re too garish and, in some cases, shapeless — and certainly don’t scream haute couture.’

Aliya Al-Hassan of BroadwayWorld (2★) disagreed about the frocks: ‘What the show gets right are the clothes. Costume Designer Gregg Barnes has blown a considerable budget on pieces from Tom Ford, Dior and Prada, to name just a few.’ She did concur that Amy di Bartolomeo gave a ‘standout performance’, saying ‘she’s funny, engaging and a thrill to watch’.  Otherwise, ‘Musically is where the show really stumbles. A day after viewing, I was struggling to recall a single melody.’ She was disappointed that ‘The Devil Wears Prada may look great, but misses the chance to say anything new or even interesting.’

Tim Bano in The Stage (2★) was left cold: ‘It looks impressive, in a spangly, shallow way, and convinces itself it has something to say in order to disguise its preening vacuity. As a musical it’s pretty and uninteresting, shot through with the kind of obviousness and mediocrity that Miranda Priestly would abhor.’ He lamented, ‘The wit and bite of the film are gone.’

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (2★) reached for the booze, calling it ‘A prosecco o’clock musical, briskly directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell’. She thought ‘none of the characters on stage feel real or alive’. She said, ‘You find yourself asking: “Why?” How does this show add to the film, riff off it or bring the satire – and celebration – of the fashion industry up to date?’ On the plus side, she said the ‘lyrics are serviceable and John’s music exuberant. Vanessa Williams is a powerhouse singer’.

For Miriam Sallon at WhatsOnStage (2★), ‘The singing is spectacular, and the chorus line has not a single high kick out of place.’ But, ‘the tunes are mostly lacklustre and the script in between is just a regurgitation of the film’s best-known lines.’ ‘Ultimately,’ she said, ‘The Devil Wears Prada is promising couture but offering something off-the-rack.’ She declared, ‘the costumes are deeply disappointing…Tens of shoddy fake Chanel jackets do not a fashion show make.’

Susannah Clapp in The Observer (2★) saw little merit in it: ‘John’s music – power ballads, rock, disco – pounds remorselessly…Mitchell’s angry, ugly choreography sets everyone marching catwalk-style and punching the air as if they were at a political rally. Gregg Barnes’s costumes are sharp, but often more aggressive than alluring’. She continued, ‘Fascinating detail has been flattened.’

The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish (2★) described it as ‘shiny yet bafflingly skimpy’. He found, ‘You sit through song after song, waiting for your heart to beat faster, but little lands or lifts’.

Alice Saville in The Independent went straight for the jugular: ‘The Devil Wears Prada is truly diabolical.’ She explained, ‘Jerry Mitchell’s production feels less like an ironic comment on the Noughties, than it does a time capsule from back then – albeit one where groundwater has seeped in and made everything a bit limp and soggy.’ And just for good measure, she said the music was ‘surprisingly unmemorable’.

Critics’ Average Rating 2.8★

Value Rating 31 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price)

The Devil Wears Prada is at the Dominion Theatre. Click here to buy tickets direct.

Read Paul Seven Lewis’ review here

If you’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion, please add your review and rating below 

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Theatre review – The Devil Wears Prada with Vanessa Williams – Dominion

Vanessa Williams does it with style


★★★★

Vanessa Williams and Matt Henry in The Devil Wears Prada. Photo: Matt Crockett

There’s no denying this musical offers style over substance, but, if you don’t go expecting substance, you will be rewarded with plenty of style. It helps of course that The Devil Wears Prada has a book by Kate Wetherhead, music by Elton John, lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick and a star like Vanessa Williams, but what really cements these contributions into a great musical is the director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell. This guy knows how to put on a show. His production packs the stage with dazzling dance routines, soaring voices, brilliant sets and just sheer energy.

Very much in line with the film, it tells the story of a serious young journalist called Andrea who gets a job working for a prestigious but, to her, frivolous fashion magazine as second assistant to the tyrannical editor. It’s a kind of Faustian pact in which she has to trade her principles for journalistic success. The question is, will she or won’t she? Spoiler alert!- she doesn’t.
Let’s start with how it looks (very appropriate for a show about the fashion industry). The stage is brilliantly lit by Bruno Poet and populated by fabulous dresses designed by Greg Barnes. I believe at least some of them are genuine haute couture frocks. Even the proscenium arch has a strip of neon light running round it like the beading on a Chanel handbag. Tim Hatley’s sets suggest the opulence of the world they describe, except of course the set for Andy’s poky apartment. You have never seen such vivid reds as at the Ball, centred on an extravagant staircase. And Paris is evoked not only by a giant depiction of the Eiffel Tower but also beautiful red white and blue colours.
The Dominion has a large stage but this show has no problem filling it. Over two dozen performers go through their routines with military precision. Okay, there is the odd occasion when they seem to be just running around but mostly the moves are eye-catching and clever. Models sway down the aisles onto the stage. The second act opens in a hospital where a row of handsome male nurses form a chorus line.
The principal characters are sharply drawn and perfectly cast. Vanessa Williams as Miranda Priestly, editor of the Vogue-like Runway magazine, is stupendous, every bit as haughty, cutting and frightening as you would hope. In a ‘less is more’ performance, she emanates power. It’s only a shame that Elton John hasn’t come up with a song that truly conveys her devilish character.
Georgie Buckland as Andy makes her West End debut but you would imagine she was a musical veteran, such is the confidence and versatility with which she acts the part of a mouse that becomes a tiger. Very nearly stealing the show is Amy di Bartolomeo who is very funny as Emily, Miranda’s desperate, appearance-obsessed primary personal assistant. All three women have extraordinarily good singing voices, the kind that can hit spine tinglingly high notes.
Nigel- the Stanley Tucci part in the movie (I say that because I’m not exactly sure what this character’s job is, but he’s important and he befriends Andy)-is played by Matt Henry with humour and sensitivity.
Georgie Buckland in The Devil Wears Prada

I was concerned by the end of the first act that too many of Elton John’s songs were fast moving and rhythm heavy in the style of Crocodile Rock. Then again, the relentless rock matched Andy’s experience of being swept along by the pace and pressure of her new job.

The second act is a different proposition. The book and the songs reveal  more about the characters’ personalities and stories, so there’s room for slower and more poignant songs, which carry the familiar Elton John stamp. The lyrics are quite witty and take the story forward. Nigel in particular has a plaintive song Seen in which he describes being an ostracised gay youngster saved by joining the fashion world.
So the music works, even if there are no showstoppers and you don’t leave singing any of the songs. At this point, I should say that the live band under Katharine Woolley drives the show like a Ferrari.
Lightweight, yes, but thanks to a fabulous production and splendid performers, this is a musical to savour. That’s all!
The Devil Wears Prada can be seen at The Dominion Theatre until 3 January 2026. Click here to buy tickets direct.
Paul was given a review ticket by the producer.
Othe critics were not so enthusiastic. Read a roundup of their reviews here.
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